Apparatus for treating flotant material



APPARATUS FOR TREATING FLOTANT MATERIAL Original Filed Feb. 2'7, 1926 3Sheets-Sheet l Jan. 14, 1930. J. J. M KEON APPARATUS FOR TREATINGFLOTANT MATERIAL 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Original Fi led Feb. 27, 1926 Jan. 14,1930. J. J. M KEON APPARATUS FOR TREATING FLOTANT MATERIAL OriginalFiled Feb. 27, 1926 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 3 III. I M

ATTOR Y Patented Jan. 14, 1930 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE JOHN J'.MCKEON, OF TROY, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR, BY MESNE ASSIGNMENTS, TO TOL- HURSTMACHINE WORKS, INC., OF TROY, NEW YORK, A CORPORATION OF NEW YORKAPPARATUS FOR TREATING FLOTANT MATERIAL Original application filedFebruary 27, 1926, Serial No. 91,096. Divided and this application filedJune 4,

1927. Serial The invention relates to a novel apparatus for treatingflotant material.

The invention also relates to a novel apparatus for degumming silk.

This application is a division of my copending application Ser. No.91,096, filed February 27, 1926.

Objects and advantages of the invention will be set forth in parthereinafter and in part will be obvious herefrom, or may be learned bypractice with the invention, the same being realized and attained bymeans of the instrumentalities and combinations pointed out in theappended claims.

The invention consists in the novel parts, constructions, arrangements,combinations, and sub-combinations, and improvements herein shown anddescribed.

The accompanying drawings, referred to herein and constituting a parthereof, illustrate one embodiment of the invention, and together withthe description, serve to explain the principles of the invention.

Of the drawings 'Fig. l is a vertical section, on line 1-1 of Fig. 2,showing one form of vat, and one form of a centrifugal basket which Imay employ,

Fig. 2 is a horizontal section, substantially on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1,looking down in the direction of the arrows;

vFig. 3 is a fragmentary side elevation of the vat, partly broken away;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary vertical section through the vat, showing adifferent form of bafile plate;

Fig. 5 is a side elevation, partly broken away, of the centrifugalseparator basket;

Fig. 6 is a vertical section through an ordinary formof centrifugalseparator, showing the basket adapted to cooperate with such mechanism.f u 1 I will describe my invention more particularly with relation toYdegumming silk, though it is to be understood that my invention may beemployed in treating any fiotant material.

It is now thecommon practice in silk mills to degum silk by p l g. outand icutting'oif one pound of silk from abale of silk, putting thatseparated portion of silk into a net bag,

' fed to the hooking out all the net bags from the first 1 cookcontaining the cooked si'lkin the case given onehundred-they are loadedon a truck and moved over to another part of the factory, Where each bagis individually placed in the basket of a centrifugal separator. Theyare then subjected to centrifugal force in the separator to expel theliquor of the first cook. After this has beendone they are severallyagain loaded on the truck and taken back to the same, or a similar vat,where they are again, for the second time, cooked in a fresh dissolvingliquor, the first liquor hav} ing been withdrawn after the removal ofthe bags. The silk in the net bags is again cooked, in the secondliquor, for approximately an hour, or an hour and a half. The bags areagain, for the second time, hooked out of the vat, placed on a truck,and taken over to the separator, where they are again, for the secondtime, subjectedto centrifugal action to drive out the liquor of thesecond cook. They are then individually taken out of the separator bythe operators; the bags are untied, the silk removed therefrom,andordinary dryer for, thefinished drying. "3 m, w j By my improvedapparatus I greatly sim- 'plify the treatment of the silk andmaterially" reduce the cost of degumming it. i

In my invention'Ijemploy a centrifugal 3 of the vat. The' vat 2 is thensubstantially filled with the ordinary dissolving liquor 5 which isheated by steam passing throughthc' Instead of cutting substantiallyiapound I silk from the bale, bagging and tying it, the operator simplytakes a mass or hunk of silk from the bale, say a hundred pounds, andthrows it, unbagged, into the vat 2, where it is loose and fiotant inthe cooking liquor. It will be cooked for the ordinary period, usuallyabout an hour, or an hour and a half.

The silk is ordinarily in the form of waste so that no steps have to betaken to avoid tangling. It is to be understood. however, that myinvention is not to be confined to treating silk waste for any flotantmaterial may be processed.

In cooking the silk I have found that it .very desirable to insure aneven circulation of the liquor through the mass of the fiotant silk. Toprevent circulation between the interior of the vat 2, and the exteriorof the centrifugal basket 1. I may mount in the vat any suitable form ofbafiie, as for example, a ring of wood or other material 10, cut away at11, 11 so that the trunnions 12, 12 and the rods 13, 13 may pass intothe bafile 10 and permit the basket to become seated upon the plate 3. v

I have also found in practice that the centrifugal basket 1 should,preferably, not be provided with apertures or holes throughout itsperiphery, but on the contrary these holes 14, 14 should be in thebottom of the basket and in the sides for only a portion of theirheight. Of course, the exact height of these holes or perforations 14,14 011 the sides of the basket 1 may vary, as found convenient orexpedient to obtain the best results. I have obtained excellent resultswith the centrifugal basket 1 perforated as shown in Fig. 1, theseperforations serving to distribute the bubbles, due to boiling,throughout the flotant silk, where the bubbles seem to have a mechanicalaction on the gum contained in the silk.

The particular form of centrifugal basket 1 ma vary. In the drawings Ihave shown one orm having a conical seat 15 which is adapted tocooperate with the proper member of a centrifugal separator, as forexample, 16 ig. 6). To prpvent circulation of the liquor through theconicalseat 15 I-close one end of the seat by a conical cap 17, the capbeing provided with any suitable locking means to cooperate with thebasket; as for example, the bayonet slots 18, 18 cooperating with thepins 19, 19 only one pin and slot being shown. This cap 17 effectivelycloses the small end of the conical seat 15 and prevents the passage ofthe liquor and the hub bles formed in the cooking.

After the silk, or other flotant material, has been cooked the requiredperiod the liquor in the vat 2 is withdrawn through the drain pipe 20controlled by the valve 21. As the liquor passes out through the drain20, the flotant silk falls by gravity, with the liquor, and is caughtwithin the centrifugal basket 1. As soon as all the liquor has beenwithdrawn, the centrifugal basket 1, now filled with the mass of cookedunbagged silk, is lifted out of the vat 2 in any suitablemanner, such asby the chains 22, 22, and taken bodily over to the centrifugal separator16, the cap 17 being removed so that the basket can cooperate with thecentrifugal separator (Fig. 6) The basket is then rotated through thebelt 25, pulley 26 and vertical spindle (not shown) until substantiallyall the liquor absorbed by the silk has been extracted in thecentrifugal separator 16. v

The centrifugal basket 1 is then removed from the centrifugal separator16 and taken again to the same vat 2, or a similar one, without handlingor disturbing the mass of the substantially dry silk which it contains.The conical cap 17 is then again placed on the conical seat 15 and thecentrifugal basket is lowered into the vat 2, as shown in Fig. 1. Thevalve 21 in the drain 20 is then closed, and new dissolving liquor issupplied to the vat 2 to permit the silk to be again cooked, for thesecond time. After the second cook, the valve 21 is operated to open thedrain 20 to permit the second cooking liquor to be withdrawn, so thatthe flotant silk will again, for the second time, fall into thecentrifugal basket 1, as the second cooking liquor is withdrawn from thevat 2. The basket 1 is then, for the second time, removed from the vat2, taken to the centrifugal 16, where the mass or bulk of silk in thebasket 1 is again, for the second time, dried. After treatment in thecentrifugal 16 the basket is removed from the centrifugal and the massof silk in the basket is dumped on a table or on the floor by rockingthe basket 1 on its trunnions 12 so as to move the stops 28 from thearms 11. The comparatively dry silk is then fed to the ordinary dryer inthe usual manner, where the final drying takes place.

' Instead of using the baflie 10, I may use any other suitable form ofbaflie, such as a metal ring 30 (Fig. 4).

In a silk mill havin twenty-four vats and several extractors han ling10,000 pounds of silk per day, it requires about twelve (12) men pullingand bagging and five (5) men boiling and extracting. By my invention thesame quantity of silk can be degummed by two men pulling and three menboiling and extracting.

I also avoid entirely the expense of net bags, and the cost of theirrepair and replacements due to wear, and particularly the excessive weardue to hooking the bags out of the vats. I

It will be clear that my apparatus may be employed where it is desiredsimply to collect fiotant material in a receptacle by subsidence of anyliquid in which it may have been washed, or otherwise treated, andwhether or not it is subsequently treated.

Also it is'clear that my apparatus may be employedto collect the fiotantmaterial in a receptacle, by drawing off the liquid, as above, and thenremoving the receptacle and further processing the material in the samereceptacle, or in another receptacle.

The invention in its broader aspects is not.

limited to the specific mechanisms shown and described but departuresmay be made therefrom within the scope of the accompanying claimswithout departing from the principles of the invention and withoutsacrificing its chief advantages.

What I claim is 1. In an apparatus for treating fiotant material thecombination of a vat to cook the material in a dissolving liquor, acentrifugal basket provided with a conical seat and adapted to besubmerged in the vat and provided with holes in its bottom and for aportion only of its periphery to direct the circulation of the cookingliquor, and means to close one end of the conical seat of the basket.

2. In an apparatus for treating fiotant material the combination of avat to cook the material in a dissolving liquor, a centrifugal basketprovided with a conical seat and a cap to close one end of the seat,said basket being adapted to be submerged in the vat and provided withholes in its bottom and for a portion only of its periphery to directthe circulation of the cooking liquor.

3. In an apparatus for treating fiotant material the combination of avat to cook the material in a dissolving liquor, a centrifugal basketprovided with a seat to fit a driving member of a centrifugal separator,said basket being adapted to rest within the bottom of the vat, and aremovable cap to close one end of the seat in the basket.

4. An apparatus for treating loose fiotant materials including incombination a vat for cooking the fiotant materials in a liquor bath, aperforate basket of a centrifugal drying machine seated in the bottom ofthe vat, means in the vat for heating the liquor, and means forconstraining the convection currents and bubbles in'the heated liquor toflow directly upwardly through the basket and the fiotant materialsthereabove.

5. An apparatus for treating loose fiotant materials including incombination a vat for cooking the fiotant materials in a liquor bath,

a perforate basket of a centrifugal drying machine seated in the bottomof; the vat,

means in the vat for heating the liquor, and means for preventing localcirculation of the heated liquor between the basket and the adjacentportion of the vat. I

6. An apparatus for treating loose fiotant materials including incombination a vat for cooking the fiotant materials in a liquor bath, aperforate basket of a centrifugal drying machine seated in the bottom ofthe vat, means in the vat for heating the liquor, and means forpreventing local circulation of the for closing the perforations in thesides of the basket.

7. An apparatus for treating loose fiotant materials including incombination a vat for cooking the fiotant materials in a liquor bath, aperforate basket of a centrifugal drying machine seated in the bottom ofthe vat, means in the vat for heating the liquor, and means forpreventing local circulation of the heated liquor between the basket andthe ad: jacent portion of the vat including a bafiie between the lateralperiphery of the basket and the inner walls of the vat.

8. An apparatus for treating loose fiotant materials including incombination a vat for cooking the flotant materials in a liquor bath, abasket of a centrifugal drying machine seat: ed in the bottom of thevat, said basket having a seat adapted to fit the driving member-- of acentrifugal separator, means for heating the liquor in the vat, andmeans for preventing local circulation of the heated liquor between thebasket and the lower portion of the vat, including removable means forclosing one end of the seat.

9. An apparatus for treating loose fiotant materials including incombination a vat for cooking the fiotant materials in a liquor bath, aperforate basket of a centrifugal drying machine removably seated in thebottom of the vat, means in the vat for heating the liquor, and meansfor constraining the convection currents and bubbles in the heatedliquor to flow directly upwardly through the basket and the fiotantmaterials thereabove including a baflie between the exterior of thebasket and the interior of the vat.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification.

JOHN J. MOKEON

